Tuesday, January 13, 2009

You all well know that I don't often get into philosophical and social issues here unless they are related to me, myself and I—and even then, I just eloquently foam at the mouth.

However, any and all things breast cancer-related pique my interest. Actually, that's not true. We're inundated with info and misinfo, so I pick and choose. The BRCA-related information I do pay attention to, however. Normal BRCA genes in people actually fight cancer; the mutated ones such as mine, up the cancer ante. Therefore, I do remember Norton and Schwartz talking about genetic engineering regarding BRCA genes. I glazed over the topic, as you know I'm not religulous and therefore when it comes to tinkering with genetics in the interest of health, I say "Hell, fuck yeah."

So I wasn't that surprised—but was rather pleased—when Brother emailed me a link to a BBC story headlined: "Breast cancer gene-free baby born." (I guess the Brits do not follow AP Style.)

Yup, due to the familial history of this unborn baby's predecessors, these parents took the ultimate proactive step. And it worked. This is huge. If I wanted a baby, I'd tell him to excise that fucking gene from the embryo or whatever too.

It's quite an interesting story, for those of you new to the subject. And it definitely portends the amazing new discoveries that will continue to improve our opportunities when it comes to health.

Read it, bitches. There is a factual error—so ya'll know I had to comment and correct: BRCA+ people do not have a guaranteed 80% chance of getting breast ca; they have UP TO an 80% chance. Big diff.